WAI On Air Podcast

Meet Nicole Battjes, owner of Rainbow Helicopters, the largest air tour company in Oahu, Hawaii. 
Nicole founded Rainbow Helicopters in 2011 at just 27 years old, starting with herself and a single helicopter. Today, the multi-island Part 135 air carrier has grown into a thriving multi-million-dollar company with 55 team members and a fleet of 10 helicopters. With more than 13 years of industry and commercial flight experience, Nicole has flown over 5,000 tours and logged more than 3,500 flight hours — serving as Rainbow's chief pilot from 2017-2022, the only woman to hold that position in the Hawaiian helicopter community at the time, before stepping into her current role. 
Beyond the cockpit, Nicole has led the vertical aviation community at the highest level, serving as the 2023-2024 board chair for Vertical Aviation International (VAI) previously the Helicopter Association International (HAI) — becoming, in a first for the association's 75-year history, chair while 7 months pregnant, and assuming her duties just two weeks after the birth of her second son. She was recognized in 2023 with Pacific Business News' 40 Under 40 and the National Business Aviation Association's 40 Under 40 awards, and Rainbow's community-first culture — including its relief efforts for mothers and babies after the Lahaina fires — has earned honors including the National Aeronautic Association's Public Benefit Flying Award. 
A longtime WAI member since 2002, Nicole has built a company where women are represented in every facet of the business, and she's made it a mission to help other mothers stay at the forefront of their careers while raising families. 
🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. 
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Meet Alex Marren, retired senior airline and transportation executive, most recently chief operating officer of Air New Zealand. 
Alex brings more than 35 years of success across the aviation, automotive, travel, and transportation industries. As COO at Air New Zealand, she led a team of 9,000 aviation professionals, driving safety, service, and transformation through technology and process. Earlier in her career, she rose through leadership ranks at United Airlines — including senior vice president of Network Operations and United Express, where she oversaw more than 3,500 daily flights across 250 cities on a $6B annual budget — before leading Rent-a Car Operations for The Hertz Corporation and later serving as president of ABM Aviation. 
A Harvard College graduate, Alex has also devoted years to nonprofit board service, including with the American Red Cross and Alliant Credit Union, and has been a longtime sponsor and advocate for AWESOME, an organization advancing women's excellence in supply chain, operations, and transportation. 
🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. 
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WAI On Air Podcast – Season 2 Episode 17 , “Changing the Equation” is live! 🎙️✈️ Meet Nelda Lee, a trailblazing flight test engineer with 45 years at McDonnell Douglas and The Boeing Company. 
Nelda was responsible for flight and ground test engineering on all four military aircraft manufactured in St. Louis — the F-15 Eagle, AV-8 Harrier, T-45 Goshawk, and F/A-18 Hornet — and served as the Level 2 Manager for Test & Evaluation personnel based in St. Louis and at military test sites in China Lake, California; Patuxent River, Maryland; and Eglin AFB, Florida. In 1980, she logged 1.5 hours of flight time in the F-15 Eagle herself — a career highlight and a rare, remarkable experience for a woman in aerospace at that time. 
Nelda holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University, where she was the second woman ever to earn the degree, and an MA in Management and Human Resources Development from Webster University. She retired from Boeing in 2014 after 45 years. 
Aviation remains both a passion and a pastime for Nelda. She's a licensed commercial pilot with instrument, multi-engine, and helicopter ratings, and a longtime leader across the aviation community: a member of The Ninety-Nines (and former Governor of the nine-state North Central Section), currently serving on the board of trustees for the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, Whirly-Girl member 247 and former International President of The Whirly-Girls, and charter member 15 of Women in Aviation International, on whose Board of Directors she has served. 
🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. 
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Meet Dr. Sian Proctor
Born just after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Sian calls herself a "celebration baby" — and that connection to space has shaped her path ever since, even when it wasn't a straight line to NASA. When NASA said no at age 39, she didn't give up. She became an analogue astronaut, kept pushing, and eventually earned her seat on Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth — becoming the first woman commercial spaceship pilot, the first Black commercial astronaut, and the first artist selected to become an astronaut.
Sian discovered art and poetry during COVID-19 as an outlet during one of the hardest periods of her life — and that creativity has become central to how she sees her role as a scientist and astronaut. Her artwork Seeker sold for $100,000, and her poem "Space2inspire" flew to space.
As founder and chief inspiration astronaut of Space2inspire, Sian is guided by her motto: "space to inspire." She uses art and media to build a J.E.D.I. space — Just, Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive — believing that concept matters as much on Earth as it does in space. With over 25 years of experience as a geoscientist and STEAM communicator, she teaches students from age 17 to 75 and continues reaching into new frontiers — from spaceflight to art to laser cutting to augmented reality.
🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
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Meet James “Jim” W. Keyes, a global business leader, philanthropist, educator, artist, musician, commercial pilot, and modern renaissance man. He is the former CEO of two globally recognized Fortune 500 companies, 7-Eleven, Inc, and Blockbuster, Inc. His other business interests cover a broad range of industries including retail, consumer products, technology, new space, energy, and advanced nuclear. He sits on several public company boards and serves as a board adviser to a venture capital firm and a number of start-up companies. Jim Keyes has experience in successfully leading multinational corporations with a deep understanding of global and local franchise operations. His creativity, innovation, and adoption of leading-edge technology contributed to the successful transformation of both public and private organizations. He is a seasoned executive, known internationally for leading transformational change. Keyes is a respected philanthropist who combines his passion for business, education, and technology to advance education for all mankind. As a founding director of the Dallas Education Foundation and founder of the Education is Freedom Foundation, he has helped hardworking youth across the country realize their dreams by raising over $450 million for fellowships and scholarships. His bestselling book, Education is Freedom: The Future Is in Your Hands, celebrates the power of education to help individuals become engaged and active participants in the democratic process and make a positive impact on their communities.  🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music 📲 Follow us on Spotify: WAI On Air Podcast  #WomeninAviationInternational #IamWAI #WeAreWAI #Aviation #Aerospace #WAITogether #WAIOnAir #WAIPodcast #AviationPodcast